Sheffield Wednesday: Promotion, not plaudits, all that matters for Owls' star Sam Hutchinson

Midfield general Sam Hutchinson insists he doesn’t care how the Owls play as long as the team get promoted this season.

Wednesday adopted a far more pragmatic approach in their march to the Championship play-offs in the 2016/17 campaign.

Ultimately, the Owls finished two places higher and seven points better off than in the previous season when Carlos Carvalhal’s team earned rave reviews for their aggressive, flamboyant football.

And Hutchinson, who was a second half substitute in Saturday’s goalless draw with Vitoria de Setubal, told The Star: “You can’t always play well in this league.

“If you win ugly and go up, nobody is going to remember how you did it. The history books dont’t say how teams went up and if you played rubbish every game.

“The ultimate goal is to go up and everyone wants that at the club. They wouldn’t have come here or signed for the club if they didn’t want to progress as professionals.”

Hutchinson, who underwent hernia surgery over the summer, has challenged his Owls teammates to make a fast to next term. Wednesday go to Preston North End in their opening fixture on Saturday, August 5. He said: “We have to make a strong start. It has killed us two seasons in a row not starting well.”

The 27-year-old is under no illusions how difficult it will be, saying: “The Championship is one of the hardest leagues in the world to get out of.

“It’s going to be a long old season. The target has to be to get as high as possible and win as many games as we can. It’s the old cliche but you have to take every game as it comes.”